this movie is broken

Here's a pleasant surprise for you.  We've got a late addition to our list of reviewed movies playing at Sound Unseen right now.  The review for Who Is Harry Nilsson has been pushed backed to tomorrow to make room for This Movie Is Broken, a Broken Social Scene concert/romance film.  Don't know what that means?  Read the review, son.  And make sure you come back later in the afternoon when we have a review for Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.  

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Review Schedule:

Tues: The Agony & The Ecstasy (screening Thurs @ The Southern Theater -- 7:30)

Wed: Wheedle's Groove (screening Thurs @ Trylon -- 8:45)

Thur: Ride Rise Roar (screening Fri @ The Southern Theater -- 8:00)

Fri: This Movie Is Broken (screening Fri @ Trylon -- 7:00)

Fri: Everyday Sunshine (screening Sat @ Trylon -- 5:00)

Fri: Who Is Harry Nilsson? (screening Sat @ Southern Theater -- 8:00)

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When I first watched the trailer for This Movie Is Broken back in the spring of this year, I couldn’t help but become giddy. Broken Social Scene, pioneers of Canadian indie rock and one of my favorite bands, finally got their grandiose, hands-to-the-heavens concert experience put on film, and this was certainly long overdue. I could already envision the movie sitting amongst the other concert DVDs on my shelf, between Stop Making Sense and Rattle and Hum. “Ooh, and there’s more to this movie too,” I thought. “There’s also a story going along with the concert.” This is where the “broken” element comes in; the movie is broken in half.

The two major players in this “rock show romance,” as the trailer suggests, are Broken Social Scene (a musical collective unit) and fans Bruno/Caroline/Blake (a love collective unit). As the band plays an outdoor venue on a balmy Toronto night, a narrative is weaved together alongside the performances--before, during, and after the gig. Love is lost and found numerous times by the concertgoers and is a fitting representation of the themes and moods the band tends to be attracted to since their formation in 1999.

Just before things get too cutesy and you half expect Zooey Deschanel to waltz in and make a cameo, the final act takes an odd turn for the young lovers, one that will probably make or break (there we go) the movie experience for most.  Like a lot of the band’s songs suggest, love is a complicated, strange, foul, dirty mess, while also always maintaining a simultaneous sense of beauty and honesty. One can’t really argue the film went against the band’s viewpoint, warts and all, even though you almost wished they would have.

But this is what makes Broken Social Scene so provocative and unique. They’ve built their reputation on toying with rock and roll conventions, and it was only a matter of time before they gave their perspective on romantic conventions in film too. This Movie Is Broken is not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. After all, they were never anything but completely honest with their audience when coming up with the title.

-Davis Wille

This Movie Is Broken screens at the Trylon tonight at 7:00.